Portal 2: Lab Rat Conclusion

Like words? Ore are you more a fan of pictures? Don't worry, there's something for everyone to enjoy in the conclusion of Valve's new comic, Portal 2: Lab Rat, which is now available for your reading and/or picture-looking pleasure.
Also of note for time-keeping enthusiasts: the calendar experts here at Valve have crunched some numbers, and have conclusively decided on 7AM EST, April 19th, 2011, as the exact moment that Portal 2 will be available on Steam. That means you've got a finite and rapidly shrinking window for being able to tell your friends, "Oh, is Portal 2 out now? I wouldn't know. Because I pre-ordered it." Look us in the eye and tell us this isn't something you'd like to be able to tell your friends. You still can.

Aperture Investment Opportunity #4: "Boots"

Over the last few weeks, we've gotten quite a few enticing reasons to pre-invest in Aperture Laboratories: from the planks of tomorrow, to test-optimized bots, to the last word in pre-emptive defense, the Home Safety Turret. Today marks Aperture's fourth and final Investment Opportunity video, and if it doesn't get you reaching for your special investment wallet, you wouldn't know a can't-miss opportunity if it was staring you in the face, yelling at you about boots.
Now, as CEO and founder of Aperture Cave Johnson explains, there've been a few hiccups getting the years-in-production Long Fall Boot out of R&D and onto the assembly line. But now that we're seeing these boots in action, we're convinced that's it's among one of Aperture's safer products.
Aperture's documentary video game, Portal 2, will be available for purchase on Steam 7:00AM EST, April 19th, but savvy consumers might want to invest in game futures by pre-ordering Portal 2 now.

Collaborative Disposition Test

The following personality test was developed by Aperture scientists in the late seventies as a way to determine test subject compatibility for cooperative testing initiatives. The test was categorized UNSAFE by Aperture Laboratories in 1977, after every test subject who took the test became immediately insane from having so many unassailable truths and gut-wrenching personal secrets about themselves revealed at once. The test was placed in a locked strong box and secured in an abandoned sub-basement. This sub-basement was then filled with cement, and the doorway bricked over.
Upon rediscovery of the document last month, Aperture scientists felt the results were "inconclusive." A further round of testing has been requested. And you can help!

Portal your way into their hearts (figuratively)

In just seventy-two short hours it'll be Valentine's Day, and that means pressure: finding a girlfriend or boyfriend, for one, then figuring out the perfect romantic gift to give them.
We're going to help you with the "perfect romantic gift" part Monday, but first things first: let's bag you a Valentine!
Download your DIY Valentines cards, here.

GLaDOS@home

Well, the end is definitely near. Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group of ingenious test subjects, we've located enough potatoes to generate the required power to start the GLaDOS reboot process. It's not too late to participate, though. The more CPU power dedicated to the process, the faster it will finish. What does that mean? From now until release, play any or all of the Potato Sack games to expedite the launch of Portal 2. Your efforts will be tracked on the http://www.aperturescience.com/glados@home/.
The Potato Sack games are all great, and each one has also received a massive Portal-themed update. So why not get a taste of Portal 2 now while you help launch it?

There's also still time to collect all 36 potatoes. Anyone accomplishing this feat by the time Portal 2 launches will receive a very special, non-hat-based reward.

Portal 2: Lab Rat

Part 1 of Valve's new comic, Portal 2: Lab Rat, is now available! It bridges the gap between the events of Portal and Portal 2! What are you waiting for?
Wait, hold on: There's also an interview about the making of the comic that you can visit after you read the comic, which you should be doing right now instead of reading the rest of this sentence which is only leading to another link to the comic.

Portal 2 drops some science on PAX East

Maybe you hate crowds. Possibly you dislike air travel. Maybe you've got a thing about people dropping the "r" sound at the ends of their syllables. Whatever your reasons, you might not have made it out to Boston this past weekend for PAX East, and so didn't get a chance to drop by the Portal 2 booth and check out all the exclusive new game footage and announcements.
"Announcements?" you ask, your eyebrow arching slightly. That's right. This past Friday, we announced the addition of the incredibly talented J.K. Simmons (who you might know better as J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man, or as Juno's dad in Juno) to the cast, as Aperture Science founder and CEO Cave Johnson.
Want more details? The gaming press can help.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/11/j-k-simmons-to-voice-aperture-science-founder-cave-johnson-in-p/
http://kotaku.com/#!5781796/portal-2s-newest-character-is-hilarious-and-possibly-malevolent
http://www.g4tv.com/games/xbox-360/63787/portal-2/articles/73845/Portal-2-Preview-Meet-Cave-Johnson/
http://www.shacknews.com/article/67800/portal-2-preview
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/115/1155076p1.html
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/03/13/j.k.-simmons-to-lend-vocal-talents-to-portal-2.aspx
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/pax-east-portal-2/711820